


Shall I Compare Thee?

by DarkPhoenix1578



Category: Pride and Prejudice (1995), Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Background Bennet Family (Pride and Prejudice), Drama & Romance, F/M, Lizzie Bennet/William Darcy Feels, Misunderstandings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-08 03:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15921550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkPhoenix1578/pseuds/DarkPhoenix1578
Summary: Mr. Darcy never calls Elizabeth Bennet "tolerable." As a result, certain events are changed which affect the outcome of their slowly blossoming romance, but is it all good?"Upon closer inspection, he was much pleased to discover a lively air about the younger woman. Her eyes sparkled with unusual wit, her mouth generously upturned, and the black curls of her hair bouncing delightfully as she danced with her partner. For the first time in quite a while, Mr. Darcy found himself rather speechless, which of course did nothing to recommend him to the society in which he found himself trapped."





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: For the record, this is my first P&P fic so I may get some things inaccurate. I do hope to be as accurate as possible however while writing. I hope you will enjoy the story, and reviews are most welcome. :)

To state that Mr. Darcy was ill disposed to attend the Meryton Assembly would be a drastic understatement. As he prowled around the edge of the room, he could not help but feel annoyance and embarrassment, with a particularly distasteful eye towards Mrs. Bennet and her rambunctious daughters. Her two youngest daughters had currently situated themselves in such a manner with some of the young officers in the room that he almost outwardly grimaced.  _Such behavior is unbecoming of ladies who seek companionship,_ he thought darkly to himself. Mrs. Bennet herself was currently engrossed in a very loud and obnoxious conversation with a few of the other ladies in the room. By ill luck he caught her gaze and her face morphed into disdainful wrath. 

"Oh, but Mr. Darcy! What a man! He is the proudest, most disagreeable man I have ever had the displeasure of meeting! Look at how he stalks! It is quite ill fitting for a man of his consequence." 

Mr. Darcy allowed his lips to twitch upwards in scornful amusement. 

"But Mr. Bingley, oh! What a gentleman, and how he dances with my dear Jane!" She glanced over at the currently dancing couple with undisguised fondness. "Oh, but they will make a good match! Look at how he smiles at her!" 

It was true, Mr. Darcy considered, that his friend did in fact beam wildly at the eldest Miss Bennet. Bingley's eyes seemed to dance with deep admiration for the woman, and Mr. Darcy smirked. Bingley was known for becoming enamored of any woman of happy and respectful acquaintance that caught his fancy. Mr. Darcy resolved that this situation should not be much different. 

It was then that he felt the presence of someone's gaze upon him and he turned his head, staring across the room to meet a woman's gaze. He recognized her as Miss Elizabeth Bennet, the second eldest Bennet daughter that her mother had most conspicuously tried to partner him with. He felt mild amusement at having caused so much consternation in a single woman. Even as he met Miss Bennet's curious gaze, he did not nearly see the amount of righteous anger that he had summoned within her mother. He watched Miss Bennet smile and turn her gaze to her friend beside her, a Miss Charlotte Lucas. Mr. Darcy found himself strangely bereft once her gaze left him and he scowled at the feeling. 

He continued walking across the room, stony faced and determined to ignore the childish whims of mothers and fathers alike as they entreated to him to dance with their daughters. Yet he could not help but returning his gaze to Miss Bennet, as she laughed and smiled with her friend. The set suddenly changed, and a man approached Miss Bennet, cordially asking to dance the next with her. A strangle bubble of irritation surfaced inside Mr. Darcy and again he scowled, turning himself away. Why was he feeling so discomposed over a woman he had not even been formally introduced to! It was nonsensical of the highest degree. 

He watched closely, however, as Miss Bennet danced with the gentleman before her. Pushing aside any feelings of envy and ill regard, he took a stand in the corner of the room, from where he hoped he could quietly observe her. Upon closer inspection, he was much pleased to discover a lively air about the younger woman. Her eyes sparkled with unusual wit, her mouth generously upturned, and the black curls of her hair bouncing delightfully as she danced with her partner. For the first time in quite a while, Mr. Darcy found himself rather speechless, which of course did nothing to recommend him to the society in which he found himself trapped. They thought him rude, arrogant, and aloof and he could not be bothered to correct their interpretations of his behavior. Miss Bennet's opinion, however, might warrant a more worthy consideration, despite her inferior and deplorable connections. 

As the dance ended, the gentleman Miss Bennet was with bowed deeply and bestowed a gentle kiss upon the back of her hand. A rosy blush rose to Miss Bennet's cheeks and she smiled sweetly, thanking the gentleman for his attentions. Mr. Darcy glowered, steeling himself as he stiffly made his way across the floor. As he approached, he felt an unfamiliar twinge of unease stir in his gut. Why was he even giving this woman the time of day? She was far beneath him, in connections and all that mattered in the social circles he was a part of. Yet he continued to walk towards her, like a moth drawn to a flame. 

That is, until a certain Miss Lydia Bennet all but plowed into him. He righted himself, stiffening as he glared disdainfully down at her. The younger Miss Bennet glanced up at him, saw the cold layers of disdain on his face, and did the unthinkable: she belted out a loud and highly unladylike laugh. Mr. Darcy scowled deeply, about to bite out an irritated comment to the indecorous display before him, before Miss Elizabeth Bennet was walking over and began profusely apologizing. 

"Sir, I am most sorry for my sister's behavior. She is young yet." She turned to her sister. "Lydia, apologize to this gentleman immediately." Mr. Darcy noted how her cheeks flushed with shame and noted that the color looked rather becoming on her. 

Lydia snorted, much to Mr. Darcy's chagrin. "I shall not. He is stiff as a board and walks around like a peacock! But I must go and find Kitty; a most handsome officer just asked me to dance a later set!" With that, the younger sister took off, practically skipping through the crowd. 

Mr. Darcy let his gaze land on Miss Bennet, whose eyes were closed with shame. "Mr. Darcy, I would beg of you to forgive my sister's rudeness. She tends to find the more refined aspects of polite society most tedious." She opened her eyes and looked up at him, her face flushed with deep embarrassment. 

"That is quite alright, Miss Bennet. In company such as this, such displays are to be expected." he replied, satisfied that his usual mask of indifference had at last recovered. 

Miss Bennet stared at him in astonishment. "Why, I am all amazement! Surely you are not implying that every young girl in the country has fixated in their minds to behave as abominably as Lydia? Why, my mother would not hear of such an insult." 

"Indeed," he said, "it has been your own mother who has been pushing her daughters upon men of consequence since the start of this very assembly." 

Miss Bennet arched an eyebrow. "I shall not deny it, yet what mother does not want her daughters marrying men of consequence? That hardly seems a fault on my mother's end, when it is a quality found quite commonly in all matured women." 

Mr. Darcy found his humor improving at the display of wit before him. "Yes, I suppose it is." 

Miss Bennet stared curiously at him. "I must admit, I spied you approaching Miss Lucas and I from across the room. Am I to assume you went through all this trouble only to tell me of my mother's tactless advances and my younger sister's abhorrence of propriety?" She pressed her lips together in a small smile, and Mr. Darcy could not stop his eyes from dropping for the smallest of seconds. 

They quickly returned to Miss Bennet's eyes however and he flushed at his lack of manners. He noted the color rising in Miss Bennet's cheeks again and, with a slight panic, knew that she had not missed the glance. 

"No." he said quickly, cursing as his usual wit of words fled him. He paused awkwardly, a silence falling between them. Miss Bennet raised her eyebrows in bemusement and he could take it no longer. "Miss Bennet, would you honor me by allowing me to dance the next set with you?" 


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you very much to those who have commented so far! I am so glad you are enjoying the story thus far and will endeavor to hold your interest as it progresses. Again, this is my first P&P fanfic that I have ever written so I am worried about keeping everything accurate and all the characters in character! But I am glad you all seem to be enjoying it!

_"Miss Bennet, would you honor me by allowing me to dance the next set with you?"_

To say that Elizabeth Bennet was surprised at hearing such an offer from Mr. Darcy would have been in fact correct. She felt at first surprise, then flattery, then annoyance, and finally cautious amusement as she stared at the man before her. It had only been a short while back that he had quite rudely refused to dance with her, instead favoring to depart from her company with a stiff bow and a scowl. Her mother had been beside herself. 

"Why! I have never seen such manners before in my life!" she had exclaimed, much to Elizabeth's embarrassment. She was quite sure Mr. Darcy had heard them as he stalked away and as Mr. Bingley blushed, making a hasty apology and chasing after his friend. 

"Perhaps he is not so handsome after all?" Elizabeth had observed in amusement and her mother had agreed most heartily. 

Yet, here the man was, offering to dance the next set with her! What was she to make of it? Elizabeth prided herself on being a great study of character but she could not find a reason for Mr. Darcy to change his inclinations to dance with her, particularly after the horrid spectacle Lydia had just made. 

She finally found the wits to speak. "I am flattered by your offer, sir." she told him, casting her eyes away from his penetrating gaze. "But considering your obvious dislike of my mother's advances, and knowing full well she would see us both dancing as a sign of some future engagement, would it not be for the better for you to claim the set with another?" She risked glancing up at the man to catch his response. 

He was handsome, Elizabeth would give him that, and there was something pleasant about his eyes. His stiff posture and the blank expression on his face, however, helped her come to the conclusion that Mr. Darcy was perhaps only asking her for this dance as a way to quell Mr. Bingley's earlier chastisement. Elizabeth felt her lips quirk up nonetheless as she watched surprise briefly slip across his face before it disappeared. 

"I assure you, madam, that I only have eyes for you at this moment and wish to dance the set with no other." 

Elizabeth felt her cheeks flare with an unfamiliar tingling and her heart stuttered, before she collected herself with some measure of anger. Who was this man to mock her so! "I believe you made your opinion of dancing with any member of my family most abundantly clear earlier this evening, when you rushed off in quite a haste. I could only assume that you found our presence so distressing as to desire quick relief from our company." 

Mr. Darcy did not seem fazed by her criticism, however, and said, "That was a mistake on my part, one that I wish to rectify immediately." 

Before Elizabeth could recover to make an adequate response, their conversation was interrupted by none other than Miss Bingley. The insincere smile on her face seemed poorly situated for her sharp, narrow face. "Ah, Mr. Darcy! I was wondering where you had run off to." She turned her to attention to Elizabeth and her smile cooled considerably. "Miss Bennet. What a pleasant surprise." 

Elizabeth curtsied politely. "Miss Bingley. Are you enjoying the ball?" she inquired politely after a moment, trying not to let the blatant dislike on Miss Bingley's face get under her skin. 

"Quite!" the lady responded with an air as equally insincere as her smile. "Although I must say, the country manners here leave much to be desired. Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Darcy?" 

Elizabeth flushed, this time in anger, but she quickly held back whatever retort she had planned on biting out as Mr. Darcy responded. "Yes, some of it has been rather appalling." His voice, which had been resoundingly softer just a minute ago, had revived its cold, unpleasant tone. 

"Yes," Miss Bingley continued, "I dare say some of the younger ladies present tonight should hardly be allowed out until they have learned to behave themselves more respectably." 

 _Yes, because_ you,  _Miss Bingley, are the representation of absolute respectability._ Elizabeth angrily thought inside her head. Instead of voicing those opinions, however, she smiled sweetly at Miss Bingley and replied, "Yes, that is quite a failing indeed. Yet, how are any of our younger ladies, ill disposed as they are to run about and cause mischief, to learn about what is respectable without the guidance from those in society who have the enormous privilege of being without bad manners or ill temper? Miss Bingley, I am sure you would be a  _wonderful_ example of such faultless, ladylike conduct to such women." 

Miss Bingley colored at the subtle insult and her smile disappeared completely. "Yes, I guess I would be." 

Elizabeth risked a glance at Mr. Darcy and she felt her breath catch as his eyes caught hers. She saw his lips twitch minutely.  _Well,_ she pondered,  _at least someone in this conversation is amused._

"Mr. Darcy," Miss Bingley once again turned her attentions to the man beside her. "Would you care to honor me with the next dance?" She stared up at him with a wide smile, fluttering her eyelashes, and it took all of Elizabeth's control not to burst into the most unladylike laughter at the sight. Mr. Darcy's amusement disappeared immediately. 

Seeing a way out of this awkward situation, Elizabeth curtsied, now with a genuine smile on her face. "If you will both excuse me, I shall not take up any more of your time." And she walked away, deeply amused but unable to rid herself of the slight disappointment in her chest. 


End file.
